Yesterday I had a busy mind.  I wasn’t worried or upset about anything in particular, simply thinking about what I was going to do that day.  After waking up half an hour later than expected, I rushed to meet a friend at the beach for a walk.  On the drive there, my eyes wandered to the scenery I passed, not paying particular attention to the road ahead.  I parked and walked through the maze of cars already at the beach.  Surfers and scuba divers stood next to their cars getting ready to enter the ocean.  My eyes scanned the boardwalk, looking for my friend. 

In the next instant, I was kissing the parking lot.  My foot hit a hole.  My ankle twisted.  My knee scraped against asphalt.  Blood oozed down my leg.  My entire body was jarred.

A good Samaritan came to the rescue, lifting me up and sitting me on his truck bed, found my friend, then headed for the beach.

An hour later, I was sitting in urgent care getting an x-ray.  The physician’s assistant gave me the bad news.  I’d broken my ankle bone.  I’ll be using crutches and wearing a cast for at least a month.  No driving while on pain medication.  No walks on the beach.  No riding a bike.  No yoga asana.

There’s a lesson to be learned here.  Pay attention.  Be present in everything you do. 

If my mind wasn’t focused on the day ahead and instead present in the moment, I may not have fallen.  This is a good lesson for me.  It’s a reminder to stop my busy mind and slow down.

Hope your day was better than mine.

Posted: July 20th, 2008 under present moment.
Comments: 5

Don’t worry.  Be happy. 

It’s hard to be happy these days when we are bombarded with all the bad news about the Iraq war and the economy.  I won’t even write down all the negative details, because bringing them to the forefront of my mind makes me anxious, depressed and worried. 

So if your feeling like life is dragging you down.  Click on the links below and put a smile on your face.  Just a simple smile can make you feel better.  So don’t forget.  Don’t worry. Be happy.

Bobby Mcferrin made these four words famous a long time ago, but I still find myself humming the tune whenever life seems to be dragging me down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02zOk_LQCkY&feature=related

And for those who just can bring themselves to listen to Bobby Mcferrin’s song, here’s one by

Bob Marley singing “Everything’s Gonna be Alright.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7K0Dp2M2fE&feature=related

Don’t worry.  Be happy.  Everything’s gonna be alright.  Don’t you feel better already?  I do

 So stay in the present moment.  Stop thinking about all the things you can’t do anything about and just BE HAPPY.

Posted: July 16th, 2008 under present moment.
Comments: none

I must be drinking a lot of tea lately, or maybe blogging a little less, because my teabag tags are accumulating.  Some sayings are just too good to throw away, so grab your cup of tea, stretch out your legs, and contemplate the following:

“Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.” Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928)

Ah. So true.  I bet Herbert wrote this quote around the time he turned 50.  It seems that once you hit that age, your kids are grown, you still have your health, you’ve saved up some money to enjoy life a bit more, and you have lots of good memories to ponder.  It also seems to be the time that we are more accepting of life, not striving as much.  What do you think?

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”  Chinese Proverb

Again – another truism.  Although some students and parents might argue that it’s the job of teachers to teach, it’s really the job of students of open their minds to learn.  In life you must take care of yourself.  That includes learning all you can to be the best you can be.

And the final wisdom of the day – one that is so simple, yet sometimes so hard to accept.

“Let things come to you.”  author unknown

There is one word that sums this quote.  Patience.  We all need more patience in life.  With patience, all things are possible.  So open your heart, pursue your dreams, by patient, and let things come to you.

Have a great day!

Posted: July 9th, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2

You’ve heard me talk about tea bag wisdom in the past, but this time I’m taking the wisdom a step further.  Not only are those little sayings on my tea bags good for the soul, now here’s an article that talks about how good green tea is for the heart

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080705/hl_time/doesgreenteahelptheheart

But not to feel like you are short-changed, here are a few words of wisdom to think about when drinking your next cup of green tea.

“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.”  Aristotle

So what do your actions say about you?  Do you take chances or focus on a goal and work toward it?  Do you surround yourself in nature or get caught up with everyday stresses?  Are you compulsive or do you honor your body and work diligently to accomplish your goals?  Are your habits good or bad for you? Do you listen to others before reacting?  Where is your passion?  What do you desire?  Hmm.  That’s a lot to think about.

Let me make this short and end with a Chinese Proverb: “When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy.” 

Drink up everyone.  Here’s to your health.

Posted: July 8th, 2008 under healthy eating, heart disease, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

Floating down the Merced River, I’m overcome with a sense of peace.  The cold, clear river flows quiet and smooth.  Trout swim past.  The depth of the water changes with each stroke of the paddle. Sometimes I see the sandy bottom or smooth river rock in shades of brown, tan and beige.  Sometimes the river is shallow other times it is deep.  The silence and serenity fill me.

As I move along, I pass a lone boulder deposited from some long ago flood.  The sudden change in depth causes a ripple in the otherwise glass-like surface.  Branches and fallen trees lay on their sides, a reminder of the forces of nature.  Bird nests abound among the bushes and trees lining the river.  I blue jay swoops overhead.

In Yosemite Valley, I am surrounded by mighty granite cliffs, tall pines and cottonwoods shedding their seeds in a summer snow.  White wildflowers open to the glistening sun.  An occasional bridge and the sight of children frolicking near a sandbar remind me that I share this beautiful National Park with millions who come to visit each year.  I smile, happy to be among them.

As I exit the river, I leave nothing behind and take precious memories to last a lifetime.

What is your favorite National Park memory?

Posted: July 1st, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2

As an adult, we remember too many things and think too much.  We worry, become anxious and fearful.  We tend to remember the bad stuff and forget the good stuff.  But take a moment to look at life through a child’s eyes.

A child wakes up in the morning and wants to run and play.

A child looks up in the sky and imagines faces and cats and hippos in the clouds.

A child picks a bouquet of dandelion flowers and gives them to his mother.

A child sings happy songs.

A child steps in all the rain puddles as she walks down the street.

A child sits quietly and plays in the mud with his mother’s baking dishes.

A child enjoys playing baseball, soccer, and other group sports.

A child eats peanut butter off a spoon.

A child jumps on a bed.

A child learns language so she can talk to others.

A child crawls around on hands and knees.

A child oo’s and aa’s at the beauty of nature.

A child likes to stop and pet a dog or cat, their fur is so soft.

A child builds sand castles on the beach.

A child collects sea shells on vacation.

A child stands on his head to experience the world upside down.

A child smiles at friendly faces.

So for today, let’s look at life through a child’s eyes.  Let’s go through our day with a sense of awe and wonder.  Let’s be present to each moment and rejoice in it’s beauty.

Posted: June 14th, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 3

I woke up early this morning with a feeling of gratitude.

I have so much to be thankful for, as a human being, as a woman, a wife and mother, an American.  I sit here sipping my tea, looking all around me.  As an American, I have my freedom and live in a beautiful country, free to vote, to wear what I want, to choose the food I want to eat, free to do what I want in life.  As a wife and mother, I have a family to love and family that loves me.  My immediate family is small, yet the number of my extended family and friends is large and grows with each passing day.  As a woman, I am grateful to have the ability to bear children.  As a human being, I am thankful for my compassion, kindness and love, for my ability to think and reason and make my own decisions.

My gratitude also extends to the material world.  I am grateful for the home that shelters me from the weather, clothes to cover my body, furniture to sit comfortably, food that is nourishing and plentiful.  I read the newspaper and listen to the news hearing reports of so many people living in poverty, without food and shelter.  Countries are at war, destroying what little these people have.  There are so many who are out of work and don’t have the money for basic staples.  I do what I can to help, but the need is so great.

I glance outside at the green leaves of the magnolia tree, the lilies, petunias, and ornamental grass.  The sky is overcast in early morning fog, yet I know that to the west is the ocean, to the east are mountains.  Down the road there are rivers and lakes, waterfalls and streams.  The sun will appear later today, the moon will rise later this evening and fill the sky with millions of stars.  I am so grateful for this beautiful planet and this wondrous universe.

What are you grateful for?

Posted: June 11th, 2008 under Stained Glass, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

If you take the time to stop and look around, you’ll discover that you can learn a lot about life from nature.

Gaze at the clouds.  Watch them float by.  Each cloud is different.  Each day, the number of clouds are different.  Clouds are constantly changing, just like everything in life.

Smell the early morning jasmine.  It’s scent can be detected several feet away and linger in the air.  The jasmine and other natural scents remind us to take a deep breath.

Listen to the birds singing in the trees.  Their songs remind us to stop and listen and enjoy the moment.

Notice the morning glory on the vine.  It’s petals close at night and open to the sunlight.  The morning glory reminds us to get a good night’s sleep and to enjoy the day.

The river flows slow and smooth.  It reminds us of our journey in life.  Look forward, appreciate the present, don’t worry about the past.

Every beautiful tree grows tall, but bends due to the way it was planted or forces put upon it like a constant wind.  The trees mind us that each of us grows up differently - different parents, different education, different circumstances.  Yet each one of us is beautiful in our own way.

I know that there are many other ways that nature shows us how to live – what is your favorite comparison?

Posted: June 6th, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 2

Thank you for this beautiful day.

I woke up early by my standards, 5:15 a.m., and felt a lightness in my heart.  I dressed, made a cup of tea, and headed out to Mt. Soledad for a sunrise meditation. 

The sky, mottled with gray skies, did not afford the opportunity to view the sunrise, but my skin drank in the moisture of early morning dew.  My ears were treated to silence, that rare sound we so often do not  hear.  My eyes took in an air show courtesy of a flock of large black crows.  The moisture in the air brought out the pine and sage scents surrounding me.  My fingers flew over my mala beads as I quietly repeated my mantra.  The taste of green tea on my tongue warmed my mouth.

This past week has been chaos in my house, but today I begin again, without judgment, without worry.  I pay attention to my heart.  I pay attention to my body.  I pay attention to the beautiful world around me.  Living in the present moment keeps me at peace.  Living in the present moment allows me to be thankful for the preciousness of today.

So, how are you living in the present moment today?

Posted: May 21st, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 3

Chaos is swirling around me, sucking me into mental chatter and stress.  My walls will be opened in a few days.  The plastic pipes replaced with copper.  Wallboard dust will swirl throughout the house.  It’s also a good time to go one step further, remodel the guest bathroom.  The last time, and every other time in the past that we remodeled a part of our house, my body was consumed with stress.  But I have an opportunity to not repeat the patterns of the past.  I know how to be calm.  Stay in the present moment.  Even when my mind is filled with bathroom vanities, sinks, tile selection, and tub enclosures, I can be present with what I am doing.  I can make one decision and move on to the next.

I start my morning in peace.  Sitting on my patio, I gaze into the manmade stream that runs through our condo complex.  The water is clear.  The palm fronds reflect in the calm water.  A slight breeze passes and ripples the water, giving sound to the leaves on the surrounding bushes and trees.  A delicate petunia bloom sways.  The lavender offers up its scent.  I am present.

I hope every enjoyed their Mother’s Day.

Posted: May 12th, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 4